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Combat
Combat basics Combat happens whenever the player characters meet enemies that mean to settle differences via blade, fang or nasty spell. Although it is usually obvious when to shift the game into 'combat mode', the GM may opt to do this whenever he or she desires (for the will of the GM is law.) Key concepts of combat are initiative, the phases, movement & actions. Initiative Initiative is the attribute that determines when a character takes action. Combatants with higher Initiative scores act first. For example, John has an initiative of 12, a bandit archer 15 and his war dog 10. The archer acts first, John acts second and last is the dog's turn. Combat phases #Compare sequence scores. Determine the sequence of actions. #Each character makes his movement by walking, running, crawling or any other means, if eligible. #Each character takes his or her turn: ##The character regains action points. ##The character declares targets for ranged combat. ##The character casts spells. ##The character performs other actions. #Spells are resolved. #Ranged combar is resolved. #Close combat is resolved. #Any other actions are resolved. Movement A humanoid character can choose one of three forms of movement: *Walking - at 1x movement speed *Running - at 2x movement speed +d6 cm, expending 0.1 SP. *Sprinting - at 3x movement speed +d10 cm, expending 2 AP and 0.2 SP. (this is considered 'maximum movement speed') Non-humanoid characters have special movement rules: *Animals can always move up to 2x movement speed without expending any SP, considering they are used to hunting for prey, or running away from predators. *Mindless creatures (e.g. zoanthropes, slimes) always move at 1x movement speed to account for a non-functional nervous system *Flyers can fly by expending 0.1 SP, unless flying is their only form of locomotion, in which case flying doesn't cost any SP. Actions Each turn every character regains the maximum possible number of action points (AP's.) This is usually 3. Examples of special cases: *Injured characters lose some of their AP due to pain *Magically slowed characters receive less AP *...whereas hasted characters receive more AP *Supernatural beings that aren't governed by the laws of the known world or are particularly slow have a varying number of AP (for example, void beasts & demons have 4-5, zombies have 2, etc.) As most of the game mechanics are designed considering that characters get 3 AP per turn, any strong deviation from the norm can provide extreme benefits or drawbacks. AP's are used to perform any non-movement-related action, e.g. hitting an opponent with a weapon, opening a door in the midst of fighting, disarming a trap, etc. How long an action takes is usually determined by the GM with the guideline that 1 AP is equal to 2-4 seconds in mind. In some cases AP's can be allocated to actions that will/may happen in the future. The obvious example would be defending in close combat, where a combatant spends 1 AP to deflect or dodge potential incoming attacks. Close combat Close combat happens when characters attempt to hit each other with weapons in melee range. There are a few statistics that need to be calculated in order to check whether a fighter hits his or her opponent. These are attack skill and defense skill. These are not skills per se, as they cannot be directly increased or decreased, but are rather composed of factors that can be influenced by training or lack of it. Attack skill Attack skill is determined by: *Multiplying the character's DEX score by 3 (0-54), **The player may opt to expend additional AP so that the character would focus on the attacks. Double the DEX bonus if 1 additional AP is used, and triple it for 2 AP. **Some weapons, such as spears and daggers, give an additional to-hit modifier if extra AP is used to make an attack. *Adding the relevant weapon skill rank (0-100), *Adding the weapon's accuracy modifier (varies), *Adding circumstance modifiers: **Attacks of opportunity (AOPs) gain an additional +DEX modifier **Striking with a weapon weilded in the off-hand incurs a -(10+AGLx2-30) penalty **Injuries: may reduce attack skill by up to -33 per injury **Fatigue: if a character's SP falls below zero, attack skill is reduced by -15, if it is below -25%, attack skill is reduced by -30 **Other modifiers... Defense skill Defense skill is determined by the mode of defense: *Dodging **Multiply the character's AGL value by 3 (0-54) **Reduce this value by twice the AW (Armour Weight) rating **Encumbrance modifiers: -10 for light, -20 for medium and -30 for heavy encumbrance *Parrying **Take the character's DEX value **Add 1/2 of the character's relevant weapon skill **Add the defense bonus of the weapon ** If the weapon is wielded in the off-hand, a -(10+AGLx2-30) penalty is applied *Blocking using a shield **Defense skill is calculated by multiplying AGL by 2. **If the attacker hits, but the value of the roll falls into the range of the shield's Defense value, the hit is considered a "shield hit" and the shield's AC is added to the character's AC. For example, if the value for the attack roll is 50, and the shield's defense value is 20, any roll between 31 and 50 (inclusive) is considered a "shield hit". **The shield's defense value is reduced by 5 for every point the character's STR is below the Weight value of the shield It is automatically assumed that the character used 1 AP during his or her turn to prepare for incoming blows. In case no AP was used to defend (for example, the character was knocked unconscious or was completely unaware of the incoming attack), do not subtract any value from the attacker's attack skill to make the roll. Using the same mode of combat to defend against multiple attacks is hard to do effectively. Therefore, the defending character receives a cumulative -10 penalty for each attack over the + secondary DEX modifierth. For example, Rick receives 7 attacks during his turn. He doesn't have a secondary DEX modifier. If he chose to parry all 7 attacks, he would receive a -20 penalty to his defense skill. But if he chooses to parry 5 and dodge 2, he would receive no penalty. The roll The attacker makes the hit roll, using skill - Defense skill as the target value. If the calculated value is above 90, any additional points are added by +1 for 5 points (e.g. if the calculated value is 106, the actual attack value is 93.) Every point added this way also increases the critical hit chance of the attack by +1. Critical hits Critical hits are scored on the roll of doubles (e.g. 11, 55) or, if the hit chance is >90%, on any roll above 90 that is still a successful hit (e.g. 92) A critical hit ignores the target's AC completely, and gives the opportunity to double or triple the amount of damage dealt. An additional roll is made using the attacker's DEX x 3 and adding the weapon critical hit modifier. If this roll is successful, the attack deals double damage; if it is also a critical success, it deals triple damage. Some armours have a Crit reduction value which is used for a separate roll. Upon success, the critical hit is ignored. Ranged combat Ranged combat, in game terms, is all about calculating the chance of a successful hit using personal and environmental parameters. *Measure the distance between the shooter and the target *Take the base to-hit chance *Add the character's proficiency rank *Take into account environmental modifiers (e.g. movement, coverage) Just as in melee combat, use the +1 point to final value per 5 points higher than 90 rule. The ranger can choose to fire a straight shot (1 AP) or an arcing shot (2 AP), both can be enhanced by taking aim (+1 AP). Doing so doubles the base bonus of performing a straight or arcing shot. 'Straight shot' The straight shot is the simplest mode of fire. It is very effective in point-blank range but is close to useless if the target is far away. The base chance for the straight shot is 50% at ranges 0-1 meters and decreases by 1% per 1 meters. For example, the base chance at a target that is 20 meters away from the base bonus would be -20% + 50% = 30%. Finally, at around 50 meters, the straight shot no longer provides a base chance but reduces the to-hit chance by 1% per 1 meters. Crossbows, due to the high speed of the fired projectile, can only be fired directly ahead. 'Arcing shot' The arcing shot, on the other hand, requires greater skill and provides benefits in medium to long ranges. At ranges up to 20% of the indicated weapon range (e.g. 62.5 meters, or 50 cm), the arcing shot gives a -5 penalty for 1% of maximum range (don't worry, these values are indicated in the item description!) Thus firing an arcing shot at a target less than 2 meters away offers a -100 penalty! However, for ranges in the span of 21-50% of the maximum, the Arcing shot provides a +1 per 1% bonus to-hit. Firing at targets that are farther away incurs an increasing penalty. The rest of the modifiers are presented in the table at the end of the section. 'Thrown weapons' Thrown weapons, such as knives, spears and javelins, can only be thrown using a 'straight shot.' However, the optimal range for a thrown weapon is up to 50% its maximum range. Thus any range up to 50% gives a base chance of 1 per 1% of range, and any range over 50%, a penalty of -2 per 1%. Thrown weapons require a certain amount of strength to be aimed accurately. For each point the character's STR is below the target value, he or she receives a -5 penalty to hit. However, each point above the required STR value increases the damage done by +1, up to 33% of the maximum possible damage. Targetting melee combatants If a ranger decides to target a character that is fighting other characters in hand-to-hand range, there is a chance that he or she will not hit the intended target. First of all, firing a shot into a melee reduces the base to-hit chance by 1/5. Then the to-hit roll is made. If the character succeeds, the target is randomized (by dice, for example.) Lastly, if the randomized target is not the one that was intended, the character can make a separate Ranged proficiency check to reverse the target back to the character that was selected. 'Range table' Straight shot (1 AP) 50 -3% per 2.5 m/2 cm Arcing shot (2 AP) 0-20% max 21-50% max 51-80% max 81-100% max -5/1% +1/1% 30(-1/1%) -5/1% Throw weapon (1 AP) 0-50% max 51-100% max +1/1% -2/1% 'Environmental modifiers for ranged combat' Target & ranger movement: *Slow (e.g. walking): -5 *Fast (e.g. running): -10 + d10 *Very fast (e.g. sprinting, falling): -20 + 2d10 Target is in cover: *Light (1/3 of body): -5 *Medium (1/2 of body): -10 + d10 *Heavy (2/3 of body): -20 + 2d10 Vision: *Obscured (e.g. low-light): -10 *Dark (e.g. shadows): -30 The modifiers are cumulatively reductive.